Lighter



April 18, 1961 KANAME c w 2,979,930

LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1959 INVENTOR. [(WM M April 1961 KANAME ICHIKAWA 2,979,930

LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 26, 1959 INVENTOR.

United States Patent F LIGHTER Kaname Ichikawa, Akasaka Hinokicho, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan The present invention relates to a lighter for igniting the tobacco filled in a pipe, such as a sailors pipe.

The use of such-known lighter is very inconvenient because in case tobacco, filled in the pipe, is to be lit by the lighter, the tobacco is likely to be turned over downwardly, or the lighter must be moved obliquely to direct the light of a wick toward the pipe, to avoid the danger. that the tobacco in the pipe falls out or burns the fingers of the user due to the flame from the lighter.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a lighter wherein the above stated drawbacks are entirely removed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a convenient lighter which in use avoids the defects de' scribed above.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lighter which comprises an outer casing having an inner casing closely fitted therein, the outer and inner casings having openings in their opposite side walls, said openings registering with each other and adapted to be closed normally by the side walls of a wick cover or a burner cover fitted turnably in the inner casing. A pressure cover is slidably fitted in one end of the outer casing, and when the pressure cover is pressed inwardly, the latter is adapted to turn the burner cover in order to ignite a wick by the automatic rotation of a rotary file wheel and concurrently opening the normally closed openings, the pressure cover being returned, when the pressure thereon is released, to its original position.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the

, present invention will be clearly understood in COEICC- tion with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a lighter according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top perspective exploded view of the lighter disclosed in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lighter, partly in section, according to the present invention in a non-lit state;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lighter, partly in section, in the position of lighting the wick, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the lighter comprises a flat rectangular outer casing which has at its opposite wider side walls an opening 1a. A flat rectangular inner casing 2 is closely fitted in the outer casing 1 adjacent one end thereof and has at its opposite wider side walls an opening 2a. The openings 1a and 2a registering with each other as to position and size, when the inner casing 2 is fitted, as required, into the outer casing 1. A pres sure cover 3 is fitted at the other end of the outer casing 1, partially in the latter to slide in the outer casing when pressure is exerted upon the pressure cover 3. The inner casing 2 is divided at its interior into a fuel compartment 4 and an ignition compartment 5 by means of a partition plate 2b disposed adjacent the openings 1a and 2a. A guide tube 6 and a wick 7 are provided in the ignition Patented Apr. 18, 1961 ice compartment 5. The wick 7 is normally covered by a hollow part of a wick cover or a burner cover 8 which is loosely attached at its lowerpart on a shaft 5a rotatably mounted in the side walls of the ignition compartment 5 forming part of the inner casing 2. When the wick 7 is covered and closed by the burner cover 8, the openings 1a and 2a are also closed by the side walls of the burner cover 8. The upper end (Figs. 3 and 4) of the burner cover 8 engages slidably the outer surface of the guide tube 6. The lower part of the burner cover 8 is loosely secured to the shaft 5a. Two thin gear wheels 9 suitably spaced apart are disposed on both sides of the burner cover 8, and mesh with rack teeth 11, as fully described below.

The pressure cover 3 is slidably inserted into the open end (Figs. 3 and 4) of the outer casing 1 and has a movable tube 10 fixed thereto at its inner side so as to be moved inwardly when pressure is applied thereto. The movable tube 10 is slidably inserted in the guide tube 6. A coiled springlOa is provided in the movable tube 10. The pressure cover 3 has connected integrallythereto at its lower part, as shown in Fig. 3, extension parts 3a and these extension parts project perpendicularly from the lower end parts of the presure cover 3 and are formed with rack teeth 11 which mesh with the gear wheels 9. A rotary file wheel 13 is loosely mounted on the shaft 5a, so as to engage a flint 18. Also, a ratchet wheel 12 is secured to the sides of the rotary wheel 13, whereby when the rotary file wheel 13 is rotated in one direction, a pawl 14, attached to the burner cover 8 and pressed by a leaf spring as usual, is turned, so as to expose the wick 7 for lighting, and at the same time the side walls of the wick cover 8 are removed from the openings 1a and 2a. These operations are caused automatically, when the pressure cover 3 is pressed inwardly, that is to say, when the pressure cover 3 is moved against the action of the coil spring 10a rapidly into the outer casing 1, the gear wheels 9 are rotated in clockwise direction by the rack teeth 11, and the burner cover 8 is turned so as to expose the wick 7. When the pressure on the pressure cover 3 is released, the latter returns to its original position by the action of the coil spring 10a, and the openings 1a and 2a are closed automatically by the side walls of the burner cover 8.

When the burner cover 8 is returned to its original position, the rotary file wheel 13 is retained without rotating it by the presure of a flint 18 and the pawl 14 passes over the ratchet wheel 12. A reduced projection 15 of the inner casing 2 projects from the end portion 112 of the outer casing 1 and is covered by an outer cover 16. A flint guide tube 17 is arranged in the inner casing 2 so as to extend from the end of the projection 15 to the flint 18 in the compartment 5 passing through the partition plate 2b.

As above described, in accordance with the present invention, the openings 1a and 2a are normally closed by the side walls of the burner cover 8. When the pressure cover 3 is pressed into the inner casing 2, the openings 1a and 2a are automatically freed by the turning of the burner cover 8 by cooperation of the rack teeth 11 and the gear wheels 9. Also, when the pressing on the pressure cover 3 is released, the parts of the lighter are returned automatically to their original positions. Accordingly, the use of the present lighter as a tobacco lighter is extremely convenient.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. A lighter comprising an outer casing having side walls. and an inner casing having side walls closely fitted therein, said outer and inner casings each having openings in their opposed side walls, the openings in corre sponding closely fitted side walls being arranged to register with each other, a wick, means mounting said wick adiacent said openings, a wick cover having side walls, said openings adapted to he closed normally by the side walls of said wick cover, a spark producing mechanism including a rotary file wheel in said inner casing, means adapted to mount said wick cover and said rotary file wheel. turnably in the inner casing, a pressure cover slidably fitted in one end of the outer casing, means operatively associated with said pressure cover, file wheel and wick cover when the pressure cover is pressed inwardly adapted to turn said file wheel and said wick cover for ignitingv said wick by the automatic rotation of said rotary file wheel and concurrently opening the normally closed openings, means adapted to return said pressure cover to its. original position when the pressure thereon is released.

2., A lighter comprising a fiat rectangular outercasing having side walls and a fiat rectangular inner casing closely fitted therein and having side walls, said outer and inner casings each having openings, in their opposed side walls, the, openings in corresponding closely fitted side walls being arranged to register with each other, a wick, means mounting said wick adjacent said openings, a wick cover having side walls, said openings adapted to be closed normally by said side walls of said wick cover, a spark pro dudes mechanism. inclu in a ar i e in a d inner casing, means adapted to mount said wick cover and said rotary file wheel turnably in the inner casing, a pressure cover slidably fitted in the outer casing, a rotary file wheel, a shaft disposed crosswise between said side walls of said inner casing, means operatively associated with said pressure cover, file wheel and wick cover adapted to turn said rotary file wheel and said wick cover about said shatt tor igniting said wick by the automatic rotation of said rotary file wheel and concurrently opening said openings, said turning means for said Wick cover and said file wheel comprising rack teeth projecting from said pressure cover, and gear wheels meshing with said rack teeth, a partition plate dividing said inner casing and a guide tube on said partition plate projecting toward said pressure cover, a movable tube secured to the inside of said pressure cover and slidably received by said guide tube, a coil spring disposed in said movable tube, and said coil spring returning said pressure cover to its original position when the pressure thereon is released,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS.

2,741,903 Sigel Apr. 17, 1956 EQREIGN PATENTS 831,169 Germany Feb. 11, 1952 161,374 Switzerland July 1, 19 33, 

